Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Lekamen Illusionen Kallet - The Second Wind

Lekamen Illusionen Kallet

The Second Wind

Nordvis Produktion

In 2007, it was announced that after three highly acclaimed releases, Swedish black metal/rock outfit L.I.K. would disband for good, leaving S. Sandström (Otherwise known as Stoif or Graav) to focus on his other project Lönndom. But after four years of inactivity, Sandström has once again resurrected the project (Which has now been expanded to Lekamen Illusionen Kallet), and with the aid of session drummer J. Marklund (Who’s also a member of Sorgeldom, Whirling, Kaos Sacramentum and Grifteskymfning), returned with the band’s fourth full-length effort ‘The Second Wind’.

As you would expect, and as hinted by the slight change of moniker, ‘The Second Wind’ does show a change of sound and direction from where the group last left off. And while most will no doubt embrace the new look/sound Lekamen Illusionen Kallet, some fans may be a little disappointed with the group’s latest effort.

Lekamen Illusionen Kallet’s sound isn’t exactly the easiest to describe, and no doubt there are many interpretations of the band’s sound. But in some ways, you could say that they sound a bit like Darkthrone at their most minimalist, but with a definite gothic rock influence taking place of Darkthrone’s obvious punk influences. It’s far from the best of descriptions, but then Lekamen Illusionen Kallet are not one of the most conventional bands on the scene either, with the sound of their latest release drifting in and out of genres throughout its eight tracks. But if there’s one thing that has to be made clear, it’s that Lekamen Illusionen Kallet isn’t by any means a black metal act. No, Lekamen Illusionen Kallet is more a band that takes influences from the scene (In production sounds and moods), and then utilises influences from other genres to make a sound that’s far from easy to pin down.

While Lekamen Illusionen Kallet is a hard band to nail down, one thing is certain – ‘The Second Wind’ is nothing short of a disappointment. Without comparing it to their former releases, what disappoints most about ‘The Second Wind’ is its ratio of strong tracks to weaker ones. Diversity is one thing, but the bizarre shift in style and tempo gives the album an inconsistency and makes you wonder if Sandström knows exactly what he was trying to achieve with a resurrected Lekamen Illusionen Kallet.

While not everything on the album makes a huge impact, tracks such as ‘Death Breeder’ (Probably the most death n’ roll sounding track on the album), ‘Insjunken’, ‘A Filthy Ride’ (Take ‘80’s hard rock and give it a Darkthrone production and vocal delivery, and you’ll know what to expect here) and the closing instrumental title track ‘The Second Wind’ are the definite picks of the album.

‘The Second Wind’ isn’t terrible, but it does sound confused and scattered for the most part, and will therefore only find its audience in those specifically on the look out for something a little more obscure or left of centre.